Rotary



V. W. ZILEN Oct. 3, 1933.

ROTARY Filed Nov. l2, 1929 x, ,m @www m N, ,Q R

Patented Oct.l 3, 1933 UNITED s'mxrrzs 'PATENT ori-lcs `American Welland Prospecting Company,

Corsicana, Tex., a corporation of Oklahoma v Application November 12,1929 Serial No. 406,710.

13 claims. (c1. 255-235 This invention relates to hydraulic rotarydrilling machines and has for its principal object means for freelylubricating the gears and bearings of the rotating parts while at thesame time providing means for guiding the grit-carrying mud fluid awayfrom the lubricated parts. A further advantage of the invention is theapproved means for retaining the top as well as the bottom of therevolving table effectively against horizontal and verticaldisplacement.

A further .object of the present invention is particular construction ofthe housing for the gears and roller bearings which may be readilydetached for cleaning the inside'of the housing.` A further featureis'the novel construction of the mud ring for sealing the upper part ofthe 'housing and preventing the mud liquid from seeping into the gearhousing and the location and positioning of the hold down ring foreffective stabilization of the top of the table against' itsdisplacement by the gear in operation.

' A still further object of the invention is the means for lubricatingthe gears and roller bearings which consists in sweating on the pinionshoulder an annular splasher ring adapted to scoop oil from the bottomof the casing and throw it against the upper section of the hold g downring whereby oil is allowed to penetrate thru the gear elements andbearing supports.

In the rotary system lof drilling for oil, a vertical drill stemcarrying at its lower end the drill pipe with its cutting bit, issecured to the horizontally revolving-table in such a manner.

as to cause the drill stem torevolve with the table, the latter being somounted as to provide free rotation. Hoisting mechanism, usually locatedto one side ofthe derrick and generally secured to the derrick floorframe, raises and lowers the drill stem as the drilling of the wellprogresses. pipe, and the cutting bit has a hole drilled thru it to forma clear passage'from top of stem, bit and pipe. Y

The mud uid is pumped thru the drilling steml and discharged at thepoint of cutting at the bottom of the well into the space between thedrill pipe and the walls of the well. This mud fluid then together withcuttings from the strata and other gritty matter rises to the top of thewell, and in so doing plasters up the walls of the Well by the rotativeaction of the `drill pipe thereby shutting oif the water or gas andpreventing to a'certain extent 'any possibility of the caving inof'thewalls of the well. The surplus mud and sand laden fluid overilowsthe well and The drin stem ishouow, as is the' returns into a mud pit tobe subsequently pumped back forming a'continuous iiow. In devices now infuse, this mud uid generally finds its way -to the unprotected machineparts and wears them out by grinding. This, of course, reduces o0 theefficiency of the rotary and lowers its factor of safety and durability.In the devices now in use there is no provision made for lubricationl ofthe exposed gearing and machine parts and if. they be lubricated it mustbe done by manually applying lubrication to the exposed parts. This ishighly inefllcient because the grit and mud oilsets any effect thelubrication might have on the gear elements. Y

In the present construction these diiliculties are overcome and there isno probability of the mud fiuid entering the gear housing ywhile thegears and bearings are kept constantly lubricated due to the splashsystem and to the method of sealing the housing. y 7

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthe description proceeds and reference is made to the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of '80 the presentconstruction.

Figure 2 is an end view.

Figure 3 is a modiied showing of a section of y the hold down ring.

The base 10 is pivotedon a plurality of skids ..35 11 so that the axisof the table is directly over the hole to be drilled. The base 10andskids 1-1`ma.y, if desired, be' made in one piece. The centralopening of the base is preferably cylindrical having a wall 12 whichengages for rotative 90 movement the skirt 13 of the gear table 15 be-.tween which and a shoulder or seat 16 of the base is an anti-frictionbearing 1'?, preferably of the roller type shown, as the weight 'of theparts borne on the rollers 18 is at times very 95 considerable. Theouter edge of the gear table is provided with an opening 19 in the oisetportion 20 thru which the bolts 21 extend for securing the mud ring 22on the gear table and the bevel gear 23 against the shoulder 24 formedby the 100 offset portion, the gear being provided with threadedAopenings to receive the threaded ends of the bolts. l

The base -10 is provided with a shoulder 25 forming a seat with the topof the base for receiving a member 26 which constitutes the gear andbearing housing. This gear housing is provided with an outwardlyextending ange 27 having an opening 28 to receive the bolt 29 to whichthe nut 30 is attached so as to securely retain the 110 gear housing andhold down ring 31 together.

The upper face of the flange 27 is provided with a shoulder 32 whereby aplurality of shims 33 may be placed so as to adjust'the height of thehold down ring 31. The lower portion of the member constituting the gearhousing is provided with anI outwardly extending ange 34 having suitableopenings 35 for receiving bolts 36 which also pass thru openings in thebase and being thereby readily secured together and held/,by the lockris provided with an annular oil receiving channel 40. The inner surfaceengaging the gear table is recessed or cut away to form a seat for thevertical bearing ring 4l while a horizontal bearingring 42 is positionedbetween the bevel gear and the hold' down ring. These bearing rings areprovided with openings 43 to allow for proper lubrication of the bearingsurfaces and being in communication with the ducts 44 and 45 allow oilto penetrate the bearing surfaces and the gear teeth so as to thoroughlylubricate these parts during operation of the rotary, the variousworking parts of the present invention being enclosed within the gearhousing.

The mud ring 22 rests upon the upper surfac r of the onset portion ofthe gear table and abuts the shoulder thereof, and is provided` with anumber of openings 5l thru which the bolts 21 pass so as to snuglyretain the mud ring on the gear table. The outer edge of the ring isturned downwardly to form a ange 52 the inner surface of which engagesthe packing ring 47` so as to prevent the mud fluid from entering thegear housing.

'I'he gear 23 is driven by means of a pinion 53 fast on a shaft 54.which'passes thru a bearing housing 55 and keyed to the shaft is a sprocket56 receiving its power from a prime mover (not shown) by means of aAchain 57.

The bearing housing 55 has at its inner end an extended flange 58 which'is suitably secured to the base. Surrounding a shoulder 60 on the shaft54 is a closure member 6l' having thevusual oil rings 62 for preventingaccumulation of dirty oil and sediment within the gear housing fromentering the bearing housing' thru the shaft. This closure is bolted tothe bearing housing as at 63. Abutting the shoulder `60 on the f shaftis a roller bearing 64 secured in the usual raceway. 'I'he bearingyhousing has an inwardly projected bearing flange 65 provided with theusual packing rings and form a bearing surface for. the shaft. Betweenthe bearing flanges 65 and the -roller bearing, the housing 55 isprovided with an opening 66 to receivethe connection 67 for a highpressure grease 'gurl for supplying-lubrication to the bearing surfaces.

The pinion which is keyed to the shaft is provided with a reducedshoulder 68 on, which is sweated on or otherwise secured an annular ring69 having laterally extending U-shaped arms 70 adapted to scoop up oilin the lbottom of the gear housing and discharge the same into theannular channel 40 in the hold down ring. Secured in a `threaded openingin the bottom of the base is y an oil gauge connection 71.

The outer. end of the shaft is journaled in suitable. roller bearings72' while the and QI the /with an opening 75 adapted to receive aconnection 76 for high pressure grease guns for supplying lubrication tothe bearing surfaces.

Keyed to the shaft 54 is an annular collar 77 having recessed portions78 to receive the pivoted locking dogs 79 if when and as it is desiredto prevent rotation of the shaft for the purpose of 'repairing or addingto the drill stem. There is provided a'receptacle 80 for storing oil soas to lubricate the bearings andgearing preliminary to operation of therotary. The oil is permitted to iiow thru the duct 81 to the bearings 41and 42. Positioned adjacent the gear table is the table bushing 82provided with a central conical open- 95 ing 83 substantially paralleland coaxial with the conical surface 84 of the gear table. The bushingis provided with the conical skirt 85 fitting snugly but non-rotativelyon the conical surface 84 of the gear table.

If desired the gear housing and hold down ring may be combined into onepiece as shown in Figure 3, in which case, the base 10 is provided withan annular recess 86 for receiving the extended flange 87 of the holddown ring 88 while the lateral .flange 89 is adapted to be secured tothe base by means of the bolt 90. If desired lto adjust the height ofthis ring any desired number of shims 91, may be positioned between thering and base. 11T

What I claim is:

1. In a rotary, a base, a gear table rotatably mounted within said base,a gear housing secured to the base, a hold down ring secured to saidgear housing and abutting said gear table above said to said gear tableoverlapping and engaging said holddown ring on the outside periphery,driving means for said gear table, and means carried and driven by saiddriving means for lubricating said gear table and driving means.

3. In a rotary, a base, a gear table, a gear housing secured to saidbase and extending upwardly therefrom, an annular hold down ring securedto the top of said gear housing, a gear carried by said table, means fordriving said gear, roller bearings in said housing, a mud ring securedto said gear table and overlapping said holddown ring, and means carriedand driven by said gear driving means for throwing lubricant againstsaid holddown ring above the gear thus lubricating the gears andbearings.

4. In a rotary, a base, a gear table, a gear housing secured to the topof said base, a hold down ring secured to said gear housing, a mud ringremovably secured to said gear table and overlapping said holddown ring,a pinion meshing with said gear, means for driving said pinion, andmeans carriedV by said pinion to drive lubricant to the gearing.

5. In a rotary, a base, a gear table, a mud ring,

a gear carried by said table, bearings between the table and base, agear housing secured to said base, a hold down ring adjustably mountedon said gear housing, an upwardly extending shoulder on said hold downring provided with an annular groove in its periphery, a packing ring insaid groove engaging the downturned flange of said mud ring, and meanspassing thru said mud ring, gear table and gear for removably securingsaid members together. .6. In a rotary, a base, a gear table, a gearcarried by said table, bearings between the table and base, ahousing'adapted to enclose said gear and bearings, said housing securedto said base, a shoulder at the upper end of said housing, a hold downring engaging said shoulder and secured to said housing, means betweensaid housing and hold down ring for adjusting the height of the holddown ring, an annular groove on the inner face of said hold down ring, amud ring secured to said gear table, a pinion meshing with said gear,means for driving saidv pinion and means carried by said pinion forsupplying a lubricant to said annular groove in said hold down ring.A

7. In a rotary, a base, a gear table rotatably mounted within said base,a gear housing secured to thebase, an annular gear secured to saidtable, roller bearings secured between the base and table, a shoulder onsaid gear housing adapted to receive a hold down ring, means foradjusting .said gear, a holddown ring secured to said mem ber andforming a sloped ceiling for said housing, said ring engaging said tableon an annular bearing surface and having lubricating openings, the slopeof said ceiling being of `such an inclination that oil thrown thereonwill flow in part to said openings and down to said bearing surface, andmeans for throwing oil against said ceiling during the operation of therotary.

9. The device of claim 8 in which part of the bearing surface and thecoacting part of said ring are horizontal, said part of the ring havinga channel and bores therein whereby oil flowing from said ceiling willbe retained in said channel' and ow therefrom thru the bores tolubricate said surface.

10. The device of claim 8 in which part of the bearing surface and thecoacting part of said ring are vertical, said part of said ring havingbores therein whereby oil owing from said ceiling will be carried tosaid vertical bearing surface.

11. In a rotary, a base, a gear table, a gear housing secured to saidbase and rising above the gear in said table, a hold down ringadjustably secured to the top of said gear housing, a mud ring removablysecured to the periphery of said gear table and engaging such hold downring, and means for lubricating the interior of said housing.

l2. In a rotary, a base, a gear table rotatably mounted within saidbase, a hold down ring adjustably mounted on the base and abutting thegear table to form a gear housing, an upwardly extending shoulder onsaid hold down ring, an. annular groove in said shoulder, a packing ringin said groove engaging a downturned ilange formed on a mud ring, saidmud ring secured tc' the gear table and overlapping said hold down ringwhereby mud fluid is prevented from entering the gear housing.

13. In a rotary, a base, a gear table, a gear housing secured to saidbase, a hold down ring adjustably mounted on said gear housing andlforming a closure for the same, a mud ring secured to said gear tableand overlapping said vhold down ring, and means in the interior of thehousing for distributing lubricant to all bearing surfaces duringoperation of said rotary.

VICTOR. W. ZILEN.

